Piano-violin.



,v A. M. GARLSEN; PIANO VIOLHL.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8, 1907.

Patented July 4, 1911.

INVEJVTOR A. M. GARLS ENL PIANO VIOLIN. APPLICATION FILBDJUNEB, 1907. 996,614. Patented July 4, 1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

2.5 FIG. 3.

(0000 0 ooooooooooooooooooooo FIGA. 63

INVENTOR.

A. M. CARLSEN. PIANO VIOLIN. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8, 1907.

Patented $512 3 SHEBTESHEET imnwamnssa pa enmamaemy Q f? v I ,js annerant nnae, I "E a g .c .c e eem- 1 Application filed .Tun 8,;1907, -Serial No. 377,968.; a

T all whom 'itlmay concamn p, find in the patent records of the United r Be itknown-that I, Annnnw M. CAnLsnN, States, but found them all to be impractical, i zeniof;the=iUnited States, residing at St. for the reasons that they either call for a ,aul', in;v the county of Ramsey' and State'ot :bowing member'consisting of a roller re- -M-innesot'a, have-linvented'anewand useful ,volvingwith its face against the string,

H 1 Piano-Violin,- ofawhic'h .the following is a which produces an unpleasant grinding (Specifications j-- a f sound even when'the roller is covered with My invention relates to musical instruhorse-hair upon soft rubber or lik'e'material; ments of the 'class known'as piano-violins, or, they call for an, endless bow,-which if o fviolr-pianos and-violrorgans; and the general made of silk is difiicultenough to make, and objectiis t'o provideja musical-instrument in then will never produce nearly the fine mu- ;"-which-. a violin or other stringed instrument sical tones that horse hair does; and to make {havingstrings vibrated by bowing, is played and maintain an endless'bow of horsehair, by-"fing'ering on a key-board similar-tothat orwith a horsehair surface, has proved to" ojf jpi'anos and organs, while-the bowing be impossible in spite of hundreds of experfonned by a mec 'ariism operated by any periments by expert mechanics, and for that available power and controlled and regureason, evidently, no practical viol' organs, 1 latelduby the'operator through the keyboard ,if any at all, have heretofore been 'ut on and additional 'keys,stops, swells, pedals, &c. the market; I To solve the said di culties Q "Another broad; object is to so construct of the bowing problem, I provide invmy insuch' 'an inst-rument that it will be possible strument two bows similar to hand bows but for"'the'-player of itito producezby the in give each how a strand of hair for each ;stri1ment all tlievarious kinds of'violin mustring on the violin: During playing, these ism-producedby: a good violinistplaying in bows are rc'iprocated constantly so near v 215theregular well-lmown way, with the bow the'strings that a'slight pressure by pressers one hand and the fingers of the other hand operatively related with the keys brings 1 {p ess ing upon the stringsover the fingerthem in playing contact with the strings; boards 1 I I and the two bows are moved slowly forward These and'other objects I attaineby proand retractedquickly so that each of them iding mechanical'means for the production will be started on its forward stroke before fiibo'w'i'ng, tremolo, sliding. movements, the'other how has completed the forward yinpatheticsounds, for. muting the strings, stroke; and the operating mechanism is such {striking the stringsand; for imitating the vthat the bows can only play during the for- ,beating' ofone cit-more? drums, band music,- ward stroke, andonly one of them can play he natural-soundsofbirds, animals,lan dat a time, except during the moments one ofwinds blowing at various objects, &c. bow takes up the work of the other to let it I {Before proceeding to describe the various make the quickrearward stroke and then acombined-mechanisms, Iwill try to facilitate come forward to act the same. way as its r thennderstanding' of-the invention by statmate did. I consider this tobe a departure g that sl believe to have discovered or infrom all earlier methods; and by employing f vented the only practical means and method it am ableto produce musical sounds of ofj "producingfupon-a mechanically play '1 any durationbypressing upon any key ofviolin an endless sound from which re the key boardwhile the bows are in motion, playerby pressing on keys of the key-beard and can do so by the best bowing means so 1,-A5'Tmay pr0duce bowing'sounds ofany desired far known for drawing rich sound from a length according to the notes he'is' playing. string, namely-astrand of hOISQ-hftll;

-lnma'king' the foregoing and the follow The hereinbelow presentation of the 'in- 10.0

*iiig statementlf'have no intention to belittle vention, while enabling a person skllledin f earlier inventions alongthis line, butsimply the'art to build and use the instrument, is r tohelp-enlighten thosew'ho study the state not intended as a working-drawing but more of. this art.-a. i as a disclosure of princ1ples, meth0ds and Fora lon'g timeI have studied and exsome of the-many 'iorms of mechanisms by 105. iperimented with alLtheviol-organs- I could which the methods may be utilized.

. bows, showing means for In the accompanying drawings,-Figure 1 is a partly sectional side elevation of a viol organ embodying many of my improvements. Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line aa in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional top view on line b-J) in Fig. 1 with many parts omitted and other parts shown more fully than in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a modified and enlarged portion of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail view of a portion of one of the adjusting the tension of the hair strands. Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the instrument with the music holder and cover of the key board removed, and the drumming mechanism disclosed through an opening broken out in the casing. Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the sliding frames carrying the bows, the bars on which they slide and the cams moving them. Fig. 8 is substantially a top view of Fig. 2. Fig. 9 is a detail top view of one of the drumming keys and the means by which it operates on a string of the viol. Fig. 10 is a right hand side view of Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is a modified top view of the cam mechanism shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 12 is a detail view of the antifriction roller of each bowing frame contacting with the cam operating the frame. Fig. 13 is a front elevation of one ofthe slides or actuators that convey motion from several keys to one bow-presser. Fig. 14 is a left side view of Fig. 13with a portion of a key added. Fig. 15 is a modification of air-pressed means for operating the fingers, and Fig. 16 is a modification of the bow-operating mechanism.

Referring to the drawing by reference numerals, l designates the box or casing and 2 the regular keyboard of an organ-shaped or piano-shaped instrument embodying my invention.

3 is the cover over the key-board, it is hinged at 4 and provided with a music-hold ing ledge 0r shelf 5, which assumes its useful position when the cover is raised as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

The violin 6, may be located in any desired position to the casing and the mechanisms arranged accordingly, but in the present instance it is given an upright about central position in the upper part of the casing, upon-a horizontal supporting board or floor 7, whose front portion 8 supports the key board on a strip 9, having pegs 10 engaging loosely in apertures in the keys, and the keys may have inserted lead weights 11 to hold their rear ends normally downward upon the strip 12,: all as usual in similar manuals. The violin -is removably held by a clamping device 13 at its lower end and a block 14 adjustably held by bolts 15 to the top of the casing and having a cavity fitting snugly the scroll of the violin.

The bowing means are as follows U on the floor 7 are fixed uprights 16 holding l horizontal bars 17, on which slide two yokeshaped bow-frames 18, 18*, of which the front one, 18*, has two horizontal arms 19 and the rear frame has two similar arms 19 moving closely above the arms 19. Between each pair of arms are stretched a set of four strands, 21, of horse-hair, each of which passes normally so close in front of one of the strings 22 of the violin that the strings are merely'allowed to vibrate fully when played by the strand of the other set; the two sets of hair-strands are thus arranged to move across the strings as closely together as practical, so that either or both of them are in position to pla Y upon the parts of the strings usually touched by the bow in playing on a violin.

The bow frames are reciprocated by having each on a stud, 23, an antifriction roller 24 covered with a layer 25 (shown in Fig. 12) of rawhide or other anti-rattling material; said roller being engaged by a groove 26 of a cam 27, fixed on a shaft 28, journaled in bearings 29 and having a fixed pulley 30, driven by a belt 31, and pulley 32, fixed on a counter-shaft 33, which is journaled in stands 34 fixed to the bottom 35 of the casing. Said counter-shaft has a feather key 36, on which is slidingly keyed asleeve 37, having a friction pulley 3S, driven wheel 39, whose shaft is mounted in stands 41 and may be driven by cranks 42, pitmen 43 and pedals 44, operated by the players feet, or, where other power is available, an electric motor for instance, a belt may be taken from the motor over the face or into the groove 45 of the wheel 39, and the cranks, pitmen and pedals will then be dispensed with.

' The sleeve 37 has an annular groove 46. engaged by a shifter arm 47, pivoted at 48 and by a rod 49 pivotally connected with a knee-swell 50, and the latter is by a spring 51 held against a stop.52, whereby the friction wheel 39 is normally held in a forward position or toward the center of wheel 39, so that when the latter wheel is revolved at a given speed the counter-shaft 33 will revolve at its slowest speed; but as the operator presses on the swell the wheel 38 willmove upon wider and Wider circles of the wheel 39 and the counter-shaft will increase the speed of the bows accordingly.

- It will be observed that both of the cams 27 are of a form which may be termed elliptical-heart-shaped, so that the roller 24 of the bow-frame is pushed in one direction at an even speed during about three-fourths of the turn of the cam, that is, by the portion gh-z' of the groove 26, and is then quickly moved in the opposite direction'by the portion z'g of the groove. It will also be seen in Fig. 7 that when the roller 24,v farthest to the left, is at the point 2' and has by frictional contact with the side of the 1 the:.proper string, is as follows: In front -a little farther; to

just ifi ni'shedsits slow' motionz the roller 24,

-.:eacl1-key.-of..tlie manual isable topress the ofeachbowstran'd is a ar m 53,. each carryingaroller 541:, by to press onthe proper strand of one or both bows a gainst limber upright wire which strand. In. Fig. 1 two of said varmsfare shown with rollers on them while of: the .otherarms only 1310118 are'shown. Said wire arms are the lower porguided win deep ;notches-55,,;in the edge of a horii f zontal :plate or. table .by; a post .57, (see Fig.

56, (see Fig. 4) held 1)'. Uponsaid table are mounted as many horizontal push-rods So as there'are arms 53, and each rod has at "1 its rear end .-a-ca-m-edge 59, and

the front ends of the rod's'fare pivoted in pairs-to the .headsfiO ofthe upright arms 61' projecting upward from four'rock-shafts 68. Each of said shafts .is journaledas at 79 in Fig. 4 --and.has another arm '64 held by spring 3 .arm 53 down :upon the horizontal top. bar

cated in Figs.

. its roller 54' against .vided that the extreme rear so the arms.

.65of an'actuator which is formed of said bar,65 and the long guiding stem 66 and l t).- ,Said stems,

wardly .by. the rear ends of the keys,

an adjustment screw :ator.'.

:qFrom the above it will be understood that when, a key 7 the actuator will tilt the arms 64-431 and thereby push .toward the bow strands,

intlie, manual is pressed down,

one pair of the cams 59 in which position the spring arm 53 with y the corresponding strand andhold the-latter in playing contact with the corresponding string of the violin, pro- 'end of the cam is in front of the spring arm, as at 53 in Fig. 4'; if the cams are in the positions shown atthe arms 53 in the same viewfthe pushing on therods 58 will have no effect on the cams will press To bring the proper cams into active and ir ito' idle positions at the proper times, I

" 1v provide a selecting mechanism,

which in the present instance, consists of two horizontal .limited by pins ,73.

- which will explain that in a bars. and 71,,sliding in bearings 72, fixed a upon the table 56,. and having their motion As best shown in Fig. 1, the bar 70 is located higher than the bar 71,

Fig. i the bar '71 6g engages with its'notches 74c t,he ,four lower push rods 58,,which affect the strantls -.tliei1ower how-, andthe bar {70 engages by the right, has already been: moved from Cg. and? .ab outarl'ialf way to in a the groove of its =C8IH5aSOX'Cll2LlJgll1B one of; the :bow frames is f alwaysataking; up. the work ofwthe other in itinientoravoid tllG tone pliiyeddqs; a-

v ra; a .1

1 The bow-pressing mechanism, by which short-1 levers {Gland 76 each of which 'has oneienclpivoted toi'one ofv the shifter bars or of the lever 76, ne,

the keys into a I been alluded to,

its

notches. Mfl-lhe -fQur upperpush-rods, 38",

Upon .the table 5,6 are pivoted on studs adapted to'hbe operated by spring-pressed hooks -77 and 77 pivoted upon the projecting arms 19,19 of the bows, while the arms at the opposite ends of the bows carry adjustable pushers 78 and 78*. From this it will be understood that as each how has finished its slow or playing stroke the pusher 78, or 78, acts on the select-ing slide 70, or 71, and throws the cams 59 in that slide into idle position, where they remain-untilthe how has made its quick return stroke and commences on its next slow stroke, at which moment the hook 7 7, or 77*, has taken'hold and by pulling on it (as it has just done at 76 in Fig. 4:) the selecting bar or slide is moved to" the right, whereby the cams 59 are again-brought into active position, ready to convert a touch on touch by the bow strands against the strings. In Fig. 5 is shown how the strand's'fll are secured in suitable sockets 78, having screwthreaded stems 79", provided withfth-umbnuts 80 by which tension of eachjstrand may beregulated. i f-- 1 5 While in the above 61-64 havebut briefly construction is shown in Fig. 3 to lee-such that the two arms (31 and 6 i of the lever are fixed on a rock-shaft 63, rocking in bearings 79 and beingof the required length to bring each armfia near the middle ofthe actuators 65. The actuator .farthest'to the right in Fig. '3, being extra long to reach over all the keys playing the E-string of the violin, the rock shaft in rear thereo-f; has' two arms (i l-{54 engaging it, sofas to avoid the tendency of' twisting oft-h e-shaft or tilting of the actuator; t his mayalso be secured by using two'smalle r actuators and letting the middle of each of them lift one of the arms 64 and 'ti i of the long rocksliaft. In the left half of Fig. is clearly shown that the rest of the into three groups, each of which is related to one of the three lower strings through oneof the actuators65 and rockshaft (33 actuated thereby. f, I The string-pressers or fingers pressing the strings against the finger-board 80, are partly shown in Figs. 1 and straight push irods or fingerrodsm, sliding in apertures in a late 82andhaving their. rear ends provided with rollers 83, of leather, rubber-Tor similar material adapted to press upon. the strings 22of'the violin, while the front','ends are ..ope'

I rativelyconnected-with of t a power-operated {mechanisincontrol le fi hy;

the complete and .correct i keys are divided 2, to consist of I which is in section so as to show that it has sure the finger may be operated by a bellbclowthe piston through the keys of the manual, andwhere the re, quired pressure on the string is very light the power may be omitted and the key connected to the finger that will convert the motion of the key into a pushln-g motion of the finger against the string. The pressure required to press the light and heavy strings of small and large stringed instruments against the finger boards at various distances from the points where the strings are supported varies so considerably that the pressing means may to good advantage, if not of necessity, be varied in order to perfect this invention. Thus in Fig. 1 is shown that for light prescrank lever 84, pivoted to the frame work 85 and actuated by a vertical pushing rod 86, having a lateral arm 87 adapted to be engaged andraised by an upright peg 88 fixed in the rear end of the key, While lever 84 is arranged tobe operated by a pulling rod 86, and lever 84 is operated .by a link 89, lever 90 and pulling rod 86".

91 are cushion springs to prevent the fingers from striking too hard on the strings. I 01'' power-operatedmeans for pressing the fingers against the strings I have in Fig. 1 shown two kinds, both-of which may be used in the same instrument, especially when, one manual is to operate a combination of instruments, like a first violin, second violin, cello and bassvioli One of said means consists of an air-pump 92 having its-piston 93 operated by an eccentric 95 fixed on the shaft '33 and embraced by a yoke 94 pivoted at 96 to the piston rod 97.

98 is a reservoir in which the pump stores the air under a pressure regulated by a safety valve 99, whose closing spring 100 may have its tension changed by anut 101, threaded on thevalve stem 102, which is guided in a bracket 103. From said reservoir the. air isdistributed by piping 101 to cylinders of which one, 105, is shown in section. In thecyliader is a normally lowered pliston 106,'fixed on the lower end of a push rod like 86. The air is let into the cylinder a port 107 when the slide valve 108 closing the port is raised by the key'2, which in Fig. 1 is shown as inserted with its rear end into a yoke 109,

a clearing 110 below the key, to allow the key to resume its normal position as soon as released from the operators finger, and thus allow the bow-presser and bow strands to recede instantly from the string, while the piston may not recede quite so quickly but may need a fraction of a second to let the air escape from below it through the exhaust port 111 and the aperture 112 in the slide valve, registering with said port when ever the slide is down and closing the inlet ruhaust port. The air above the piston rod by any mechanism 1 a' screw port. When the slide is raised the solid part of it below aperture 112 closes the exescapes port 113, which is partly closed by 114, whereby the upward speed of the piston is regulated so the piston will not make abl0w upward.

' The second means to operate the fingers may be electro-magnets, of which one, 115, is shown in a position to pull upward the rod 86 by drawing on an armature 116 secured upon the arm 87. The magnet receives electric current through wires 117- 118- from one or more batteries like 119, or any other available source. The wire 118 runs to a contact post 120, near which is another contact post 121 holding a wire 122, running from the magnet while the wire 117 runs to it. In the key 2" is slidingly inserted a screw 123, retained and adjusted downwardly by a nut below the key, as shown, while the upper end is provided with a contact plate 124: supported on a very light coil-spring 125. When the key 2 is pressed down with ever so light a touch the contact plate touches the two contact posts and completes the circuit around the magnet, which at once pulls the rod 86 upward and thus causes the finger to press on the string just as long as the key is held down; and when the key is released the circuit is broken by the sinking of the contact plate on the key away from the contact posts. Whether compressed air or magnet, or both, or neither of them be used the actuators 65 of the bow-pressers are operated by the keys in the same manner, as already described. I

The muting device-consists of an L-shaped lever 126 pivoted at 127 and having at its upper .end a common Violin mute held near the strings where they rest on the bridge 128, the short arm of the lever is pivoted to a rod 129, operated by a bellcrank lever 130, rod 131 and knee swell 132, so that by touching the latter the mute will be applied to the bridge for any short or long period and far more readily than when applied and removed by the hand in the common way. When the swell is released the spring 133 raises the mute from the bridge and re stores the swell to normal position.

The tremolo or vibrating mechanism is as follows: The plate 82, in which all the fingers 81 are supported near the strings, is guided to slide vertically in the frame bars 13-113F. Said plate has its lower end provided with a pin 136, which normally engages in a hole in a rod 139, and the latter rod is guided between pegs or guides 138 of the bar 135 and having in its lo end an aperture engaged by the free, lever 140, which is pivoted at 141 to a frame 142 sliding onarms M3 of a bracket 14% and carrying a journaled shaft 145, having through a friction. pulley 14 Such vibration is controlled -the franie 142 is slid rearwardly so that the s pulley 1461will' qbe-drivenby it as long as .u wan-ted, fisrelea'sed and the spring 152 will draw the H H forward, separating the friction f pulleys and sending the end ofthe vibrator lever 140 into a notch 1530f a bracket 154,,

:5 frame [142 engage the pulley 1147 and the tremolo is when no longer wanted the swell whereby the vibrator plate 82is restored to zo key is pressed-down,

,83 in the' bifurcated roll; up and down on on the string.

and held'in correct normal position; when the vibrating mechanism is' in action and a the corresponding roller end of the' finger will ,it-he most perfecttremolo.

sliding movement, which. violinists often make by moving the finger several a .gnotes along the string while the bow is in 1not ion,"I produoe'b-y moving the entire.

plate. 82 while the'desired finger is pressing 5'30 111 'the present mstanceobtained byfixing inthe plate apin 155 and engaging it by the slot 156 of an arm which is rocked by" an arm 159 and rod projecting through a the key board,'and is provided with a knob orifinger-hold 162,

160;,jthe-latter 'hasat its lower end a stem 7 which the player takes holdof and moves it. toward either end-of the slot with one hand: while holding down 40 ."the desired key bythe other hand, The 1 knob is then restoredito a* certain;mark (not shown) at the middleq o'f the slotf During such sliding movements of the plate 82 it must be releasedfrom thevibrator rod 139,

" 46" and-when the sliding movement isfinished 1 the plate must be coupled again to themed.

This is done by providing the arm 157 with p '-a1"V-shaped notch: -.=-jf"-orming two cams -50 jects the rod 189.

(as shown in Fig. 8) 163-464; oneof which from the. notch and thereby from; the pin-136 when the arm 157 begins to swing upward,.the other when it --'t"begins.to swing downward; hence the cams "force the rod oiit of coupling engagement with the plate and let it rest upon the arm beyond thecam-notch until the arm resumes I igh \sp f y, ps

i '7 1 sohplate,

- .:I.The

sliding movemen j its normal position when the rod, being into the notch inthe frmflandengagesagainvthe pin 136 inthe ar obtained b the described when the same is performed'while the key presses one harmonic tones ofthe fingers '81 against thestring so-lightly ammo; i

the string and cause- Such motion of the p late'is 157 of a rock shaftslot 161 near above finger pressure,

vwater, singing 1 of birds,

areas gati g arliaise asea agana ithe fingerboar'df 1 i f Tilt; beating", any str ng in imitation of drumming or picking ,of the string, ";as in performed by the following 1 means As shown in Figs 6 9 and certain keys, in Fig. 6 the four lowest keys of the key board, 1 ,2, 3 and 4 engage by their rear ends bell-crank levers 165, whose upper arms engageeach with a beating stick orst-riker 166, pivoted at 167 and' normally held bya spring 168 (see Fig. 9) away from the strings, but when the operator gives a quick stroke on the key the corre-.

sponding striker, there being one operating on each string as shown in Fig. 6, will give a single stroke on its string and recede, the same as when the ordinary violin player picks a string with one finger while playing; but it the key be quickly pres'seddown and held down, the striker, having a spring 166 in its arm, (see Fig. 9), will vibrate and cause a drumming sound on thestring, and if two keys be alternately thus used, and each of them is held down the proper period, about the'same as drumsticks are, used, a fair imitation of the beating of a common drum will be obtained, the best sounds for the purpose may be selected by holding down certain keys by one hand while the other hand operates the drumming keys. The bass drum is imitated by using one finger ,on the key 4 at proper intervals.

To imitate band music, the operator should play music with one hand and operate the drumming keys with the other hand simultaneously and alternately as the notes will call for, This and the whole playing of the instrument mayrequire some practice, but

such practice and study is much more interesting than if one could do without ita'nd operate the'instrument by merely turning a crank. or winding up a spring. The

same tainable on this instrument by' proper manipulations of the various mechanisms already described. Thus chiming, tolling and ringingof bells may be produced by using the drumming keys and alternating the sounds by the other keys,

and playing on the the bleate of sheep, rustling of leaves, running of cow bells, sleigh bells &c., may be'obtained, for which, fur- .ther direction will in due time be given is true of the many other, sounds ob a canary birdfthel fsliding 7 And by combining the sliding movements'with the beating strings under differentv &c., the most fantastic vari-- ations, like the bellowing of cows,

- the plate 82 the manual, and when the trill is reached the proper key in the E-string part of the manual is held down while the drumming key 1 is struck and held down until the drum stick on the E-string has vibrated long enough on the string to imitate the regular trill in the song, whereupon the key 1 is released and sounds are produced by on the proper keys.

short notes played the many modifications coming within the scope and spirit of this invention, I have in F i v1 shown a piston 106 adapted to be em raced by a cylinder and by air pressure be pulled downward instead of piston 106 being actuated upward. And in Fig. 15 is shown that the piston-106 may be a plunger or long enough to guide itself against tilting in the cylinder 105 and the finger rod 81 is pivoted at 169, so that when makes a sliding movement with the finger the air pressing on the piston will compensate for the variation in distance between the piston and the different points of the string. In said view is also shown that the air may enter the cylinder at 1T0 1T1, passing a narrow neck 172 of a cylindrical valve plug 172, when the latter is pushed upward, and when it is pulled downward by the released key the air exhausts through port 171 and passes out abovethe end of the valve plug .while the latter closes by its upper portion 173 the access to port 171 as an inlet. In this modification much mechanism between the fingers and the pistons is avoided, and as the air pressure on the valve plug is balanced to avoid friction, a very light connection between the keys of the manual and the several fingers 81 may easily be carried to any preferred location of the cylinder.

In the top view Fig. 11 of the bow frames is shown how a single cylindrical cam 171 may move the two bow-frames 18 by a spiralgroove 175 engaging the rollers 24 of the frames. It will be observed that the short portion 176 of the groove imparts the quick return motion of the bows, while the longer portion 176, which extends about threefourths of the circumference of the roller,

imparts the slow forward motion of the bows. understand without In this connection any mechanic will illustration that also one of the cams in Fig. 7 may operate the crank lever having two bow-frames by simply employing a bellthe roller 24: on one of its arms, and the other arm connected by a link to one of the bow frames so that the vertical motion of the lever arm engaged by the cam' will impart a horizontal motion to the frame moved by the other arm of the lever. In using either of those forms of cams the fast motion of the bow-frame may have an undesirable tendency to resist the even turning of the cam. To overcome this the next chirping" difliculty I have shown in Fig. 7 how a spring 177, or a weight 178 attached to a cord 179 resting over a pulley 180, may be eni- .ployed to help 'move the frame on its quick return stroke.

It is obvious that-I m'ay place the bowfr amesin front as well as in the rear of the violin and may have the strands to act upon the front or rear sides of the strings, and may place the violin in vertical, slanting, horizontal or any other position. I may also use a gang-bow frame, carrying several bows playing upon several violins by a single key board, but it would be an unnecessary and useless complication to here show and fully describe all that.

From what is shown in Fig.3 it will be understood that while on ordinaiyviolins and viol-organs the lowest note of each string is the open string. I also make special violins with so long strings that the open strings are each a half note lower than the open strings G, D, A, E, on common violins; this enables me to use freely the tremolo also on the lowest note played on each string. I am also thereby able to take G flat on the key G? in Fig. 0 which is the real open G-string and needs no finger 81 to press on the string. It will also be seen that while the key board on the ordinary viol organ ends with the keyG in Fig. 6 I provide several keys for still higher notes on the finest string so-as to enable the player to play as high notes as he can obtain on the string for ordinary or extraordinary purposes; and for special instruments I provide more or less than four strings and may then give the bows hair strands .in corresponding numbers. When I say hair strands I do not mean to limit my invention to the use of hair bows, for although horse hair is at' present by far the best it is not a perfect material for the production of a how that will draw the full tones from the string. I also use shutters adapted to let out from the casing more or less of the sound. and swells or stops for shutters on organs casingsare'veiy old and my muting device also to a great extent regulates the volume of sound from pppp to ffff I have not shown and described shutters. I also use resin-applying devices but have not shown them as they are old in the art. Also the connection of the tuning pegs 185 in Fig. 6, by which the player is able to tune the strings while sitting at the key board, is not fully-shown, as any mechanical expedient will establish connection between suchtuning pegs and the pegs on which the strings are wound in the instrument. Neither is it necessary to show and describe that when an electric or other motor is used and the pedals 44.- are thus dispensed with,

feet free, he may use pedals like 44 inFig.

manipulating them, but as such so that the operator has his its upper or lo 6 in any desired number instead of the knee swells 50, 132 and 150. i

In Fig. 5, 186 is a cushion at the end of any of the pushers 7 8-7 8* of the bows. Cushions (not shown) are also used where ever necessary to prevent rattling or other noise in the mechanism.

In Fig. 1 187 designates a spring-arm side of the pitman 1&9 to prevent the crank 1 18 from stopping at wer dead center, as such stopping would prevent the arm 140 from enter ing the notch 153.

In Fig. 6 is shown that the slot 156 in the lever 167 is wider at the middle than nearer the ends; the purpose of this is to allow the lever when in normal position to swing enough up and down to enable the cams 163-164 to eject the rod 139 and thus set plate 82 free to move,

move the plate. The wide part of the slot can. cause no rattling, because during the sliding movements of the plate the pin 155 always bears against either the upper or the lower side of the slot when at the middle thereof, and beyond the middle the pin fills the slot while the lever changes direction of stroke. The wide middle portion of the slot also enables the plato 82 to vibrate during tremolo without vibrat- .ing the slotted lever or arm and its handoperating mechanism 153160-162.

In Fig. 16 is shown how I may reduce the size of the bowing cam or cams by motuiting the roller 24:, on which the cam acts, on a guided slide. 186 and let the slide pull on a cord 187, wou'nd on a. smallpulley 188, se cured on the same'shaft with a-larger pulley 189 having a cord 190 inioving the bow frame 18, or'the two pulleysi gnay be: secured shaft 191.

]When this arrangement or its equivalent is "used either the spring 179 or weight 178 in Fig; 7 is employed to retract the bow-frame during its. fast movement.

Having thus described, my invention, What I claim is 1. The method of playing a stringed instrumentby bows, which consists in apply ingztwo reciprocating bows near each other upon the same string, and having the two bowsfreciprocate slowly and at the same speedpartly simultaneously in one direction and faster .in the other direction, and having the bows make the fast movement without touching the string, and applying them to thestrlng during the slow movement partly .one at a time and partly both at one time, so

' that each bow continues the note the previous bow is playing before the said previous bow leaves the string to make its quick return stroke. I

2. The method of playing: by bows a strnment ha ing. aseries of consists in app l'yin two bows before the lever on I gages the-pin 155 and try to bowing devices a near each other across the strings, each bow having as many playing strands as there are strings to be played on, and each strand be ing disposed near-the string it is to play on, then reciprocating the bows slowly and at the same speed partly simultaneously in one direction and faster in the other direction, and having the bows make the fast movement without touching the strings, and during the slow movement applying the strands of the bows to the strings part of the stroke.

a single strand and part of it two strands to the same string.

3. The method of playing by bows upon a stringed instrument, which consists in ap: plying a plurality of reciprocating bows alternately and simultaneously with overlapping strokes upon the same string, for the purpose set forth.

1. The method of playing a stringed instrument by bows, which consists in applying two reciprocating bows with overlap-- ping strokes and pressing mechanical fingers against the strings by power and e1nploying a key board for controlling the power so as to apply'it at the right time and to the right fingers.

5. In a piano violin, a viol, two bows adjacent thereto and having eacha bowing device passing near each string of the viol,

means for reciprocating the bows by partly overlapping slow strokes in one direction and by faster strokes in the bow-p-ressers interposed between the keys of the instrument and the bowing devices and means controlled by the bows whereby the bow-pressers are automatically rendered inactive during the fast strokes of the bows and active during theslow strokes.

6.111 a piano violin,-a viol, a bowing mechanism comprising two bowing "devices reciprocating near each string of the viol. means for impart-ing to the two devices a reciprocating motion by fast strokes in one direction and. by slow'and partly overlapping strokes in the other direction.

7. The combination with a stringed musical instrument, of two bowing devices reciprocating near each other across the strings and adapted to be pressed against the strings, means for impart-ing to, said fast alternating movementin one direction and a partly overlapping slow movement in the other direction.

8. In a piano violin, a viol, reciprocating bows having Y bowing devices passing in front of each'stringand between some of the strings, and'means for moving the bows fast in one direction and slowly in the other direction,

ing each a bowing device-passing near each string and between some of the strings of the vio1,'in rezniy position to .be pressed.-

the bows, fast in one direction and in the other direction and means for pressmounted near the viol, a

an operating piece mounted on the casing ranged to beat on the strings, keys-operatshortening fingers being adapted of the strikers,

ranged to beat on the strings, keys operatshortening fingers being ening fingers adjacent to the strings,rollers stopping the vibrating playing, and automatiomeans for restoring the plate to normal position, said poweroperated means consisting of a crank and a pitman having operative connection with the plate.

15. In a piano violin, a viol, string-shortening fingers adjacent to the strings, rol in the ends of the fingers, a key board operatively connected with the fingers, a guided plate having apertures guiding the fingers, power-operated means for imparting longitudinally vibrating movement to the plate, means near the key board for starting and stopping the vibrating movement while playing, automatic means for restoring the plate to normal position, and means operated at the front of the instrument and connected with the plate for imparting a slid ing movement to it in the longitudinal direction of the strings.

16. A piano violin comprising, a viol, reciprocating bowing devices-adjacent each string of the viol, a keyboard having its keys divided into groups relating one to each string of the viol, a series of actuators operated each by the rear parts of the keys of a group, bow-pressing devices actuated one by each actuator and arranged to press the bowing devices against the string played by the group of keys of the key-boardrolating' to such string.

17. A piano violin comprising, a viol, reciprocating bowing devices adjacent each string of the viol, a key board having its keys divided into groups relating one to each string of the viol, a series of actuators operated each by the rear parts of the keys of agroup, bow-pressing devices actuated one by each actuator and arranged to press the bowing devices against the string played by the group of keys of the key board relating to such string, mechanical fingers adapted to press on the strings, said fingers being operatively related to the keys of the key board.

against the string, means for reciprocating slowly ing'the bowing the strings.

10. In a piano violin, a suitable casing, a viol mounted in the interior of the casing, string shoitening fingers near the strings, a key board at ,the front of the casing operatively connected with the fingers, bowing devices near the strings and means for reciprocating the same, a lever pivotally muting device fixed on the lever, a rod extending from the le- Ver, a bell-crank lever and a second rod extending therefrom to the front of the casing,

devices into contact with near the key board and operatively connected With the second rod.

11. In a musical instrument and arranged in a suitable casing, a Viol, 'eciprocating bowing devices adjacent the strings thereof, means for operating the bows, stringshort ening fingers, a, key board operatively connected with the fingers, hard strikers aring the strikers, said bows and the stringfor oper ation simultaneously with or independently for the purposes set forth. In a musical instrument and arranged in a'suitable casing, a viol, reciprocating bowing devices adjacent the strings thereof, means for operating the bows, string-shortening fingers, a key board operatively con nected Withthe fingers, hard strikers aring the strikers, said bows and the stringadapted for oper ation simultaneously with or independently of the strikers, said strikers being formed with springy operating arms and provided withsprings to hold them normally away from the strings for the purpose set forth.

13. In a piano violin, a viol, string-shortin the ends of the fingers, a key board operatively connected with the fingers, a guided plate having apertures guiding the fingers, power-operated means for imparting a longitudinally vibrating movement to the plate, means near the key board for starting and stopping the vibrating movement while playing, and automatic means for restoring the plate 'to normal position.

14. In a piano violin, a viol, string-shortening fingers adjacent to the strings, rollers in the ends of the'fingers, a key board operatively connected with the fingers, a guided plate having apertures guiding the fingers, power-operated-means for imparting a lon gitudinally vibrating movement to the plate, means near the key board for starting and movement While described, the combination with a violin, of bow frames with bowing means adjacent to the strings of the violin, and power-operated rotary cams imparting alternately fast and slow reciprocating motion to the bow frames.

19. In a musical instrument of the kind described, the combination with a violin, of bow'frames with bowing means adjacent to the strings of the violin, and power-operated rotary cams imparting reciprocating motion to the bow frames, said'cam or cams being of such form as to reciprocate each bowframe slowly in one direction and fast in the other direction. 7

20. In a musical. instrument of the kind described, the combination with a violin, of bow frames with bowing means adjacent to Lea the strings of the violin,

- aha p er-operated mtary cams imparting reciprocating moti ;-to the bow frames, sa1d' cams beingof such form as to reclprocate' each bow-frame -i other J-flstrings'thereofya main shaft ada operated. by. suitable securedpn .the -ma1n shaft, a counter shaft I "adjacent 'thereto,' a friction pulley or wheel direction and fast in the v 4 direct on, and auxiliary. means arranged to receivepower from the frame fidiiring itsslow movement and return the power andhelp to ts' fastmovement.

move the frame during 21,3111 a-piano VlOliIl, a" viol, reciprocatbowing devices arranged adjacent the pted to be power, a friction disk slidingly keyed :on the counter shaft and having its face engaged frictionally by the v side. of the friction:

from-the front of ,the instrument by -which disk, means operated the friction pulleyrnay readily bemoved to and fromthe periphery of the disk, and-op erative' connections between the counter shaft. and the bowing. devices to reciprocate them slow 'or'fast astheplayermay regulate While- Play 2 2.1111 afpiano. violin, a viol, reciprocat-' bowing devices adjacent the strings thereof, fingers arrangedto press the strings againstithe finger-boar'dmf the viol, a key-- board, a motor, an air pump operated by the motor, a reservoir for the compressed "air," cylinders, pistons in the cylinders and --';'-lh a'ving piston rodsoperatively cbn ectcd with the fingers, valves operatedby the keys of the key board and'controlling the air passages between the reservoir and the cylinders.

=23. In a piano violin, a viol, mechanical fingers adapted to press'on the strings, and

"a-tremolo device .for vibrating the fingers so as to produce tremolo, means for operating ,the tremolo device, means for controlling its i'j operation by the-player .5

at the front of the instrumenhland means for locking the tre- "Tmolo device with the fingers in normal posit ono'n the str1ngs. 2E. In, a stringed musical'instrum'ent, a

lseries" of strings, rec1procating bowing devi'ces,'two for each strin .and normally out f-of con tac't' therewith, an means for deflect- "ing. each bowing device through its flexibility from its normal path of travel and thais bringing it to cont-act with the string one at a time or both at one time, for the piirpose set forth.

. I 25. Infa stringed musical instrument, a

finger board, a series of strings adjacent vices of each pressing the strings against theifinge'r hoard,

" thereto, reciprocating bowing devices arranged: in pa1-rs,=one. PM ad acenteach string, means for. moving the bowing deair alternately, fingers for deflectors the. bowingdevices v bowing devices string, means for moving keys,

strings, and lecting device controlling the deflecting devices to cause pressed air to strings,

compressing device arranged to against the strings, and keys arranged to operate said fingers and deflectors sinnilt'a neously'. V

26. In a stringed musical instrumentff arranged in -pairs ne r. each devices in each jftb "two bowing" pair alternately-and by f s strokes in one direction and slow and partly-,

overlapping strokes in the other direction,- deflecting devices operated by the keys to bring the bowing devices against the an automatically-operated sethe two bowing devices to produce a continuous tone as long as a key is held down.

27. In a piano violin, a reciprocating bow, a cam imparting slow and fast motion to the bow, and astroke-increasing device connecting the bow and the cam, to give the bow a longer stroke than the cam has.

28.In a piano violin, a viol, reciprocating bowing devices adjacent the strings thereof, fingers arranged to press the strings against the finger board of the viol, a key board, a motor, an; air pump operated by the motor, a reservoir for the compressed air,

the compressed air escapes from the cylinder.

29. In a piano violin, a viol with finger board and strings, bowing devices near the strings, a series of cylinders, pistons in the cylinders, piston rods extending from the piston, elements operatively connected with outlet of the compressed the piston rods and arranged to act as fingers by pressing upon the strings, an aircompressing device arranged to supply comthe cylinders, a valve at each cylinder to cont-r01 the inlet and outlet of the air, and a key-board having keys operatively connected with said valves.

30. .In a piano violin, a viol with finger board and. strings, bowing devices near the a series of cylinders, pistons in the cylinders,

the piston rods and arranged to act as fingers-by.pressing upon the strings, an airsupply comair to the cylinders, a ,valve arpressed at each cylinder to control the inranged ,leta'nd outletof the air, and a key-board piston rods extending from the pistons, elements operatively connected with set forth. v L. C. CARLsEN.

having keys operatively connected with said In testimony whereof I affix my signature, valves; said piston rods having each a omt in presence of two Witnesses. to allow its string-pressing element to be T swung or moved in longitudinal direction of DRE, CARLSEN the strings, and means for so moving the Witnesses:

string-pressing elements, for the purpose M. H. CARLSEN, 

